Tag Archives: authors

February 23, 2013 · 10:41 am

Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles

Reposted from the wonderful folks at Creative Writing Now.  Below the article is their information for contacts, etc.  These are some great flesh-out questions for both authors, and in my opinion, readers to get better stories.  Enjoy!

Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles

Here are some questionnaires for writing character profiles. You’ll find more fiction-writing resources at the bottom of this page. 
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Writing Character Profiles – Questionnaire 1 (Adult Characters)

  1. Name:
  2. Age:
  3. General physical description:
  4. Hometown:
  5. Type of home/ neighborhood:
  6. Relationship status:
  7. Current family:
  8. Family background (parents, previous marriages, etc.):
  9. Friends:
  10. Other close relationships:
  11. Relationship with men:
  12. Relationship with women:
  13. Job:
  14. Dress style:
  15. Religion:
  16. Attitude to religion:
  17. Favorite pastimes:
  18. Hobbies:
  19. Favorite sports:
  20. Favorite foods:
  21. Strongest positive personality trait:
  22. Strongest negative personality trait:
  23. Sense of humor:
  24. Temper:
  25. Consideration for others:
  26. How other people see him/her:
  27. Opinion of him/herself:
  28. Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story:
  29. Ambitions:
  30. Philosophy of life:
  31. Most important thing to know about this character:
  32. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why?

Writing Character Profiles – Questionnaire 2 (Child Characters)

  1. Name:
  2. Age:
  3. Birthday:
  4. General physical description:
  5. Hometown:
  6. Type of home/ neighborhood:
  7. Father’s name, background, and occupation:
  8. Mother’s name, background, and occupation:
  9. Brothers and sisters:
  10. Position in family:
  11. Other close relatives:
  12. Family relationships:
  13. Special friends:
  14. Enemies:
  15. Influential person or event:
  16. Grade in school:
  17. Attitude toward school:
  18. Grades:
  19. Favorite pastimes:
  20. Hobbies (music/art/reading material):
  21. Favorite sports:
  22. Favorite foods:
  23. Dress style:
  24. Religion:
  25. Attitude toward religion:
  26. Relationship with boys:
  27. Relationship with girls:
  28. Leader or follower:
  29. Strongest positive personality trait:
  30. Strongest negative personality trait:
  31. Sense of humor:
  32. Temper:
  33. Consideration for others:
  34. How other people see him/her:
  35. Opinion of him/herself:
  36. Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story:
  37. Ambitions:
  38. Philosophy of life:
  39. Most important thing to know about character:
  40. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why?

Writing Character Profiles – Additional Questions

  1. If your character has a job, is he or she good at it? Does he or she like it?
  2. What are your character’s bad habits?
  3. If you asked about his or her greatest dream, what would your character tell you?
  4. What’s a secret dream that he or she wouldn’t tell you about?
  5. What kind of person does your character wish he or she could be? What is stopping him or her?
  6. What is your character afraid of? What keeps him or her up at night?
  7. What does your character think is his or her worst quality?
  8. What do other people think your character’s worst quality is?
  9. What is a talent your character thinks he or she has but is very wrong about?
  10. What did his or her childhood home look like?
  11. Who was his or her first love?
  12. What’s the most terrible thing that ever happened to him/her?
  13. What was his/her dream growing up? Did he/she achieve this dream? If so, in what ways was it not what the character expected? If your character never achieved the dream, why not?
  14. In what situation would your character become violent?
  15. In what situation would your character act heroic?

Click here for more on creating characters and using character profiles.

 

About Creative Writing Now

Creative Writing Now was founded by writing teachers to be a supportive and friendly online space for authors and poets at all stages in their writing lives.

Our mission:

  • Educate – with high-quality courses and free resources for independent study.
  • Encourage – by maintaining a positive atmosphere and providing guidance for beginning writers.
  • Inspire – by sharing our passion for literature and writing.

 

Meet some of our team

Nancy Strauss
Founder and Online Courses Director

Nancy taught creative and expository writing at the University of Michigan before moving to the Czech Republic and then Spain. Since then, she has worked as an English teacher and consultant, published a book about online communities, and founded a content writing and translation company. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in English from Oberlin College.
Linda Leopold Strauss
Contributor

Linda is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for young people, including Drop Everything and Write!: An Easy Breezy Guide for Kids Who Want to Write a Story (E & E Publishing, 2010). In addition to her thirty-year career as an author, she has taught writing courses for the Institute of Children’s Literature. Linda lives in Cincinnati with her husband, Bill.

Cristina Viejo and Graciela Garcia
Web Designers

Cristina and Graciela are responsible for the new look of the Creative Writing Now website and created the woman with the laptop that you see at the top of this page. They are currently available for new design projects, including websites, illustrations, and other types of graphic design. Enquiries can be sent using the e-mail form below.

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June 29, 2012 · 3:16 pm

The “Big Six” Publishing Houses

As an author I always hear about the big six houses, but being out here in Arizona, I never really knew which six they were referring to.  It is funny, because I am not the only one, but when someone says “the big six” we all nod as if we know.  It is further complicated in that many publishing houses use different names for different types of books, so you might think it is another publisher, but it is a division of one of the big six.  So, as usual, I did some research so I would know for sure.  Here it is for me, and fellow authors who wonder.

Hachette Book Group

A profile of Hachette Book Group USA (HBGUSA for short), which is owned by French company Hachette Livre.

HarperCollins

This house, under the News Corp umbrella, is based in midtown Manhattan and publishes a lengthy list of bestsellers

Macmillan

A profile of the publishing house, Macmillan.

Penguin Group

A profile of he second largest trade book publisher in the world.

Random House

One of the biggest publishing houses on the block, Random House is a subsidiary of media conglomerate, Bertelsmann.

Simon & Schuster

Another member of the “big six,” the major trade house based in NYC goes back to the early 1920s and was home to one of the industry’s most famous editors, Maxwell Perkins.
Yes folks, those are the golden gooses, the Holy Grails, the Arc of the Covenant.  The mighty houses we all yearn to accept our awesome stories.  Although I am also independently published as well, one day…one day…

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April 13, 2012 · 8:28 pm

An Homage to Joe Haldeman and Michael Stackpole – Authors and Gentlemen

At the LepreCon 38 conference I had the pleasure of sitting on panels with many other authors.  Authors as a lot are mostly friendly and interesting people.  However, when people become famous, they tend to have swollen egos and that gets in the way.  Not so with two very nice gentlemen, Michael Stackpole, who I have met before at Phoenix ComicCon and I follow him on his blog, and Joe Haldeman, somewhat a living legend in Science Fiction circles.

Michael Stackpole actually remembered me, though our last conversation was only about 45 minutes long and over a year ago.  That impressed me, because I am of no monetary value to him, I am not important in the trade industry, and he meets thousands of folks like me each year.  He was a very important part of my career so far, and I have used his advice and mentorship to plan out several of my career choices as I change to being a full time novelist.

Joe Haldeman was not only polite on our panel, but actually asked me to moderate in his place.  He sat next to me and we had the opportunity to exchange a few comments.  He was not only humble, quiet and polite, but you could tell immediately he was a genuinely nice man.  For someone with so many awards, books, teaching as a Professor at MIT, and the marquis guest of honor at a conference, you could easily mistake him for just a nice man saying hello on a Sunday afternoon in the park.

I have sent them both messages of thanks, but I thought it would be extra nice to introduce to you some of their work, so you can enjoy reading them as much as I have:

Joe Haldeman

http://home.earthlink.net/~haldeman/index.html – His website

Books

  • WAR YEAR     (short novel) Holt, 1972
  • COSMIC     LAUGHTER (anthology) Holt, 1974
  • THE     FOREVER WAR (novel) St. Martin’s Press, 1975
  • MINDBRIDGE     (novel) St. Martin’s Press, 1976
  • PLANET OF JUDGMENT (Star Trek novel) Bantam, 1977
  • ALL MY     SINS REMEMBERED (novel) St. Martin’s Press, 1977
  • STUDY WAR     NO MORE (anthology) St. Martin’s Press, 1977
  • INFINITE     DREAMS (short story collection) St. Martin’s Press, 1978
  • WORLD     WITHOUT END (Star Trek novel) Bantam, 1979
  • WORLDS     (novel) Viking, 1981
  • WORLDS     APART (novel) Viking, 1983
  • NEBULA     AWARDS 17 (anthology) Holt, 1983
  • DEALING IN     FUTURES (short story collection) Viking, 1985
  • TOOL OF     THE TRADE (novel) Morrow, 1987
  • BUYING     TIME (novel) Morrow, 1989
  • THE     HEMINGWAY HOAX (short novel) Morrow, 1990
  • WORLDS     ENOUGH AND TIME (novel) Morrow, 1992
  • VIETNAM     AND OTHER ALIEN WORLDS (essays, fiction, poetry) NESFA Press, 1993
  • 1968     (novel) Hodder & Stoughton, U.K., 1994, William Morrow, Inc., June     1995
  • SAUL’S     DEATH (poetry chapbook) Anamnesis Press, May 1997
  • FOREVER     PEACE (novel) Berkley, October 1997
  • FOREVER     FREE (novel) Ace, 1998
  • THE COMING     (novel) Ace, 2000
  • GUARDIAN     (novel) Ace, 2002
  • CAMOUFLAGE     (novel) Ace 2004
  • OLD     TWENTIETH (novel) Ace 2005
  • WAR     STORIES (collection, two novels and short stories) Night Shade, 2005
  • A SEPARATE     WAR and other stories (short story collection) Ace, 2006

My next novel, THE ACCIDENTAL TIME MACHINE, will come out from Ace in 2007.

In addition, I wrote two adventure novels for Pocket Books, under the “house name” Robert Graham. Many of these books are still in print. Every volume has appeared or will appear as a paperback (Pocket, Ballantine, Bantam, Avon, Ace). Various of the titles have been published in as many as 19 foreign languages. The novel MINDBRIDGE reputedly sold to paperback for a record advance (since surpassed) for a science fiction novel.

I collaborated on an adventure novel, THERE IS NO DARKNESS, with my brother, Jack C. Haldeman II.

WORLDS, WORLDS APART, and WORLDS ENOUGH AND TIME comprise what I consider to be my best work, a trilogy that I worked on from 1975 to 1992. Ace published the novel FOREVER FREE in December ’99, and will bring out THE COMING this December.

A few dozen of my short stories, novelettes, and novellas have appeared in various science fiction magazines, along with a few appearances in “mainstream” magazines like Playboy. My songs and poetry come out mostly in tiny little magazines, with one poem in Harper’s and two in Omni. Articles and editorials have appeared in various magazines and newspapers (an article on the space shuttle won the Analog Readers’ Poll for “best nonfiction” of the year). I’ll write just about anything but criticism. (Actually, I have written criticism, but always limiting myself to writers I can praise without reservation.)

Theatrical Adaptations

Movie options have been taken on various titles, and the movie rights to THE FOREVER WAR were bought in ’97, but it’s dormant right now. I adapted THE FOREVER WAR for live stage; it opened in Chicago, October ’83, done by the Organic Theater Company (and didn’t lose money, which is unusual for a first shot). I’ve written a few short movie and TV things for Disney, but none has been produced. A short story, “I of Newton,” appeared on the Twilight Zone show in 1985. I wrote the screenplay for a science fiction adventure film that was released on about 800 screens on 21 November 1990. Over my strong objections, they titled it ROBOT JOX (I wanted to call it THE MECHANICS, but they didn’t think that was sci-fi enough.)

Awards

  • THE   FOREVER WAR won the Hugo, Nebula, and Ditmar Awards as Best Science Fiction   Novel of 1975. “Tricentennial” won the Hugo Award for Best SF Short   Story of 1976. In 1978, MINDBRIDGE won the Galaxy Award for “Science   Fiction and Spirituality.” “Saul’s Death” won the Rhysling   Award for best science fiction poem of the year, 1983. “The Hemingway   Hoax” novella won the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella of 1990.   THE HEMINGWAY HOAX novel won the Italian “Futuro Remoto”Award as   Best Novel of 1991. “Eighteen Years Old, October 11th” won the   Rhysling Award for 1990. “Graves” won the World Fantasy Award and   the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 1993. “None So Blind” won   the short story Hugo in 1995. FOREVER PEACE won the Hugo, Nebula, and John W.   Campbell Awards in 1998, the first such “triple crown” in 22 years.   “January Fires” won the Rhysling Award in CAMOUFLAGE won the 2006 Nebula Award   and the James Tiptree Award (for science fiction or fantasy about gender   issues).

 

Michael Stackpole

http://www.stormwolf.com/ – His website

The following is the most complete bibliography available concerning Mike’s work. It is by no means complete. It does not include small articles for convention books, his long-running column for Comic and Games Retailer, The Secrets issues nor the occasional article written for and published here on his website.

This bibliography is current to August, 2010

The way to read any entry is the following:

Year (of publication)

Title (publisher) (Awards or other information)

If an entry is followed by an asterisk (*) it means Mike was a contributor.

If an entry has a cross (†) it means Mike was an editor on the project.

Computer Games

1984

* 2010 Adventure Game (COLECO)

1988

* Wasteland* (Interplay/Electronic Arts) (Winner 1988 Best Adventure game from Computer Gaming World; CGW Hall of Fame Game)     * Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate (Interplay/Electronic Arts)

1989

* Neuromancer *(Interplay Productions) (Winner1989 Best Adventure game from Computer Gaming World)

1992

* Star Trek 25th Anniversary Game* (Interplay Productions)

1993

* Judgment Rites* (Interplay Productions)

Gamemaster Aids

1981

• The Black Dragon Tavern (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #11) • Grimtooth’s Traps* (Flying Buffalo)

1982 # Castle Ward (Flying Buffalo) # Citybook I*† (Flying Buffalo) (Winner 1982 Origins Award for Best Adventure) # Grimtooth’s Traps Too*† (Blade/Flying Buffalo)

1983 # Stormhaven (Blade/Flying Buffalo) (Winner 1983 Origins Award for Best Adventure)

1984

* Citybook II: Port ‘o Call*† (Blade/Flying Buffalo)     * Champions III *(Hero Games)

1986

• The Batman Sourcebook (Mayfair Games)     * Traps Fore*† (Blade/Flying Buffalo by Task Force Games)

1987

* Citybook III: Deadly Nightside*† (Blade/Flying Buffalo by Task Force Games)     * Whole Delvers’ Catalog* (Catalyst project for Task Force Games by Mark O’Green)

1988

* Orion Rising: Istanbul* (TSR, INC.)     * The Kell Hounds (Fasa Corporation)

1989

* The Batman Sourcebook II (Mayfair Games)     * Brushfire Wars: Korea* (TSR, INC.)     * Lords of Darkness: Zombi* (TSR, Inc.)

1990

* Citybook IV: On the Road* (Flying Buffalo, Inc.)     * More Tales of the Black Widow (FASA Corporation)     * Sprawl Sites* (FASA Corporation)

1991

* Citybook V: Sideshow* (Flying Buffalo, Inc.)

1993

* Mercenaries Handbook* (FASA Corporation)

Articles

1977

• How I Designed a World for Tunnels & Trolls (Supernova 29)

1978

• Traps in T&T (Supernova 31) • Know Your Foe 101 (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #1)

1979

• Redcap Afterword (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #5)

1980

• Lord of The Rings Games (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #6) • The Bigger They Are… (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #8)

1981

• The FBI Affair (Space Gamer #46) • Dragonquest Review (Different Worlds #12) • Vampyre Quest (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #12) • Pulling Your Punches (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #13)

1982

• LOV Reprise (Flying Buffalo Quarterly #45) • Galactic Conflict (Flying Buffalo Quarterly #47) • Devil Games? Nonsense! (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #14) • When in Rome (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #15) (Written as Matt Shaw) • Skills in T&T (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #15) • Judges Guild Adventures (Space Gamer #50)

1988

• Home Field Advantage (BattleTechnology #0203) • Wolfhound (BattleTechnology #0204) • Home for Christmas A Special Report (BattleTechnology #0204)

1989

* The Truth about Role-Playing Games (Satanism in America; Gaia Press) • Interview with Melissa Steiner (BattleTechnology #8)

1990

• The Pulling Report (privately published) (This report on role-playing games and the crusade against them is easily available on the net.)

1991

• Rick Loomis: A Profile (The Gamer #1) • Role Playing and the Real World (Dragon #171) • We Are Not Alone (The Gamer #1) • MSPE essay (Heroic Worlds edited by Lawrence Schick; Prometheus Books)

1993

• Running the Perfect Fantasy Campaign (Pyramid #2)

1998

• The Evolution of X-wing Rogue Squadron (Star Wars Handbook Vol. One: X-wing Rogue Squadron, Dark Horse Comics) • Introduction (Star Wars: Dark force Rising collection, Dark Horse Comics)

1999

• The Third Agenda (Writers of the Future Vol. XIV)

2000

• Foreword (Star Wars Roleplaying Game, WOTC)

2002

• Introduction (Heart of Dorkness, The collected Dork Tower Vol. III, Dork Storm Press)

2004

• Introduction (PS238 collected volumes 0-5, Dork Storm Press/Henchman Publishing)

Flying Buffalo, Inc., published a gaming magazine called Sorcerer’s Apprentice. During the magazine’s run, Mike wrote two columns for it:

Arcane Graffiti was a news and review column, which he wrote from issue #5 in 1979 to the final Flying Buffalo issue, #17, in 1983.

Queries and Quandries was a question and answer column dealing with gaming issues. He started writing it in 1982 with issue #14 and went through the Flying Buffalo run with #17 in 1983. For the last several issues the format changed from being one of the readers asking for advice to Mike, writing as Grimtooth the Troll, posing questions to readers.

Board, role playing and card games

1982

• Berserker Board Game (Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (based on the stories by Fred Saberhagen)

1983

• Nuclear Escalation card game* Flying Buffalo • Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes RPG (Blade/Flying Buffalo, 1st edition Sleuth Pub., 2nd edition)

1984

• Justice, Inc. RPG* (Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises)

1990

• The Renegade Legion Role Playing Game (FASA Corp.)

1998

• Crimson Skies Board Game* (FASA Corporation) (Winner 1998 Origins Award for Best Board Game)

Solitaire adventures

Solitaire adventures were the hallmark of Flying Buffalo’s Tunnels & Trolls role-playing game. Mike’s first published game was City of Terrors. During his career he turned out a number of these adventures, both in the long form, and mini-solos that were run in magazines.

Mini-solos

1978

• Kingmaker (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #1)

1979

• Gold Dust, Red Death (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #4)

1980

• Stop, Thief! (Sorcerer’s Apprentice)

1981

• Blood and Honour (The Gamer #2)

1983

• Hot Pursuit (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #16)

Book length solo adventures

1978

• City of Terrors (Flying Buffalo, Inc.)

1980

• Overkill (2nd Edition) (Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (A completely different text from the first edition)

1981

• Sewers of Oblivion (Flying Buffalo, Inc.) • Dargon’s Dungeon (2nd edition) (Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (A completely different text from the first edition)

1983

• Jade Jaguar (Blade/Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (A solo for Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes)

1987

* Red Circle (Blade/Flying Buffalo, Inc.)

1990

• Elven Lords (Flying Buffalo Inc.) (Collecting the mini-solos above and adding new material)

Novels

1988

• Warrior: En Garde (FASA Corporation) • Warrior: Riposte (FASA Corporation)

1989

• Warrior: Coupe (FASA Corporation) • Lethal Heritage (FASA Corporation)

1990

• Blood Legacy (FASA Corporation)

1991

• A Gathering Evil (GDW) • Lost Destiny (FASA Corporation) • Evil Ascending (GDW)

1992

• Natural Selection (FASA/ROC) • Evil Triumphant (GDW)

1993

• Assumption of Risk (ROC/FASA)

1994

• Once a Hero (Bantam Books) • Bred For War (ROC/FASA) • Dementia (Roc/Target)

1996

• Rogue Squadron (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) • Malicious Intent (Roc/FASA) • Wedge’s Gamble (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) • The Krytos Trap (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller)

1997

• The Bacta War (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) • Talion: Revenant (Bantam Books) • A Hero Born (HarperPrism) • Grave Covenant (Roc/FASA)

1998

• An Enemy Reborn (HarperPrism) • I, Jedi (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) (hard cover edition) • Wolf and Raven (Roc/FASA) • Prince of Havoc (Roc/FASA) • Eyes of Silver (Bantam Books)

1999

• Isard’s Revenge (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) • I, Jedi (Bantam Books) (New York Times Bestseller) (mass market edition)

2000

• Onslaught (Del Rey Books) (New York Times Bestseller) • The Dark Glory War (Bantam Books) • Ruin (Del Rey Books) (New York Times Bestseller)

2001

• Fortress Draconis (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition)

2002

• Fortress Draconis (Bantam Books) (mass market edition) • When Dragons Rage (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition) • Ghost War (WizKids/Roc) (Winner 2003 Origins award for Best Novel)

2003

• When Dragons Rage (Bantam Books) (mass market edition) • The Grand Crusade (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition)

2004

• The Grand Crusade (Bantam Books) (mass market edition)

2005

• A Secret Atlas (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition)

2006

• A Secret Atlas (Bantam Books) (mass market edition • Cartomancy (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition)

2007

• Cartomancy (Bantam Books) (mass market edition) • Masters of War (Roc/Wizkids) (mass market edition) • The New World (Bantam Books) (trade paperback edition)

2008

• The New World (Bantam Books) (mass market edition)

All of the Star Wars novels were also released in abridged audio versions which are actually quite good. The books have been reduced mostly to the combats, but the addition of music and sound effects makes up for what was cut.

Lethal Heritage, Blood Legacy, and Lost Destiny (aka the Blood of Kerensky trilogy of BattleTech novels) were released in abridged auto format in 2003.

I, Jedi had a Science Fiction Book Club edition which is smaller than the Bantam printing. There was also a Canadian hard cover edition of which Mike has only seen two copies (at signings).

Onslaught and Ruin were combined into a single 2-in-1 volume for the Science Fiction Book Club. In 2004, at the completion of the whole New Jedi Order series, the two paperbacks were reissued at a lower price.

Anthologies

1992

• Mages Blood and Old Bones*† (Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (Winner of Gamer Magazine’s Best Game Fiction of 1992 Award)

2005

• Perchance to Dream (Five Star) (A collection of Mike’s short stories.)

Short Fiction

There are a few notations after some of the short stories to help folks identify them. They are:

BT = BattleTech

DCW = DragonCrown War*

DL = Deadlands

FH = Farrell Holmes*

MB = Merlin Bloodstone*

MTG = Magic: The Gathering

P = is collected in the anthology Perchance to Dream.

PS = Purgatory Station*

SR = Shadowrun

SW = Star Wars

TE = is collected in Tales of the Empire

TM = Trick Molloy*

WR = is collected in the book Wolf & Raven.

WTCG = WARS Trading Card Game

If there is no indication of a universe a story belongs to, it’s original with Mike. If the note above has an asterisk (*), the story is in a series which is original to Mike.

1980

• The Wages of Treachery (Wildcat/Cryptoc 2/17)

1982

• The Lone GEV (Space Gamer #52) (Set in Steve Jackson’s Ogre universe)

1982

• The God of Thieves (Oracle #1) • Six Foot Four Inches of Death (Periodic Lungfish) (The title comes from the length of the manuscript, which was one continuous piece of computer paper. Several people just started taking turns typing out a narrative on Mike’s typewriter and it was published in a fanzine.)

1983

• Double or Nothing (Olympus #4)

1987

• GEVs Rush In… (The Sorcerer’s Scrolls #23) (Set in Steve Jackson’s Ogre universe)

1988

• Goliaths on St. Andre (BattleTechnology Magazine) (BT) • The Judas Blind (Shrapnel, edited by Jordan Weisman, FASA Corporation) (BT)

1989

• The Final Gift (Amazing Stories) (P)

1990

• Better To Reign (FASA Corp., Update #3 and Elven Fire) (SR) • Would It Help to Say I’m Sorry (Into the Shadows edited by Jordan Weisman) (SR) • It’s All Done With Mirrors (Into the Shadows edited by Jordan Weisman) (SR) • Squeeze Play (Challenge Magazine #44, GDW) (SR, WR) • Quicksilver Sayonara (Challenge Magazine #46, GDW) (SR, WR) • Digital Grace (Challenge Magazine #47, GDW) (SR, WR)

1991

• Shepherd (Dark Regions #4) (A Talion story) (P) • Let Me Call You Sweetheart (Newer York edited by Lawrence Watt-Evans, NAL) (P) • Absolutely Charming (Amazing July 1991) (P) • Numberrunner (Challenge Magazine #50, GDW) (SR, WR) • Fair Game (Challenge Magazine #62-63, GDW) (SR, WR)

1992

• Its the Thought That Counts (Whatdunits edited by Mike Resnick, DAW) (P) • Wind Tiger (Mages Blood and Old Bones edited by Elizabeth T. Danforth and Michael A. Stackpole, Flying Buffalo, Inc.) (P)

1993

• The Oldest Trick In The Book (AutoDuel Quarterly Vol. 10, N. 4) (set in Steve Jackson’s Car Wars universe)

1994

• If As Beast You Don’t Succeed… (Part 1) (Kage V1, N2) (SR, WR) • If As Beast You Don’t Succeed… (Part 2) (Kage V1, N3) (SR, WR)

1995

• Peer Review (Superheroes edited by John Varley and Ricia Mainhardt, ACE)(P) • Missed Chance (Star Wars Adventure Journal/West End Games) (SW,TE) • Arts & Sciences (Forever After edited by Roger ZelaznyBaen Books) (The book is a braided novel using characters created by Roger. It was a great project to work on.) • Luck of the Draw (An Armory of Swords edited by Fred Saberhagen, TOR) (set in Fred’s Swords universe) • Blood Duty (Warriors of Blood and Dream edited by Roger Zelazny, AvoNova) (P) • What’s In A Name? (Tapestries edited by Kathy Ice, HarperPrism/WOTC) (MTG) • Tip Off (Wheel of Fortune edited by Roger Zelazny, AvoNova) (P)

1996

• Insufficient Evidence (Distant Planes edited by Kathy Ice, WOTC)(MTG)

1997

• Side Trip, parts 2 &3 (With Timothy Zahn) (Star Wars Adventure Journal/West End Games) (SW, TE) • Kid Binary and the Two-bit Gang (Highwaymen edited by Jennifer Roberson, DAW) (P)

1998

• Asgard Unlimited (Lord of the Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Avon) (P) • Fortune’s Hunt (serial novella published on the Crimson Skies website, later collected as Spicy Air Tales Vol. One, FASA Corporation, 1999)

1999

• Encounter at Darkknell (parts 2 and 3) With Timothy Zahn (Tales from the New Republic edited by Peter Schweighofer and Craig Carey, Bantam) (SW) • He’s a Good Little Boy (Starfall edited by Martin H. Greenberg, TSR) (Set in their Star*Drive universe) • The Parker Panic (The Anthology with No Name edited by Shane Lacey Hensley, Pinnacle) (DL, P)

2000

• The Lazarus Murder (Amazing Stories, Summer) (PS) • Keeping Score (Guardsmen of Tomorrow edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff, DAW) (PS) • The Cards Call Themselves (Published on Stormwolf.com in serial form) (MB)

2001

• When You’re Dead (Historical Hauntings edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg, DAW) (P)

2002

• Least of My Brethren (Sol’s Children edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg, DAW) (PS)

2003

• Elusion Illusion (Star Wars Insider #66, March/April 2003) (SW) • The Krells of Tancras Moor (Dragon Magazine #310, August, 2003) (P) • Egor’s Last Date (Dork Tower #25, Dork Storm Press)

2004

• According To Their Need (Visions of Liberty edited by Mark Tier and Martin H. Greenberg, Baen Books) (PS) • Serpent on the Station (Space Stations edited by Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, DAW) (PS) • A Matter of Life or Death (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published in booklet form and on the net) (WTCG) • Followers Have Neither Peace nor Rest (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published on the net) (WTCG) • Even in Defeat, a Beautiful Performance (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published on the net) (WTCG) • Your Life is Already Lost! (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published on the net) (WTCG) • The First Arrow Was Light, But The Second Went Deep (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published on the net) (WTCG) • A Monster Among Monsters (promo piece published by Decipher Inc., for their WARS Trading Card Game. Published on the net) (WTCG)

2005

• Brewed Fortune (Renaissance Faires edited by Jean Rabe and Andre Norton, DAW) (MB)

2006 • The Silver Knife (Slipstreams edited by Martin H. Greenberg and John Helfers, DAW) (FH) • Intelligent Design (Furry Fantastic edited by Jean Rabe and Brian M. Thomsen, DAW)

2007

• Wildest Dreams (Army of the Fantastic edited by John Marco and John Helfers, DAW) • Seemless (Pandora’s Closet edited by Jean Rabe and John Helfers, DAW) (MB) • No Rest For The Wicked (Wizards, Inc edited by Loren L. Coleman and John Helfers, DAW) (TM)

2008

• Ghost of Christmas Present (The Corps, edited by Loren Coleman, Catalyst Game Labs) (BT) • Keeping Score (Worlds of Their Own, edited by James Lowder, Paizo) (PS) • Such a Nice Girl (serialized to Stormwolf.com) (TM) • Little Girl Lost (serialized to Stormwolf.com) (TM)

2009

• If Vanity Doesn’t Kill Me (Crime Spells edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Loren Coleman, DAW)(TM) • The Adventure of the Red Riding Hoods (Terribly Twisted Tales edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg, DAW) • The Witch in Scarlet (Serialized to Stormwolf.com) (TM) • Looks Are Deceiving (Unusual Suspects edited by Dana Stabenow, ACE) • ‘Til Death (Serialized to Stormwolf.com) (TM) • Well Met The Future (BattleTech 25th Anniversary, Catalyst Game Labs) (BT)

2010

• By Our Actions (Timeshares, edited by Jean Rabe and Martin H. Greenberg, DAW Books) • Such a Nice Girl (serialized to Stormwolf.com) (TM) • Better to Reign (Spells and Chrome, edited by John Helfers, Catalyst Game Labs) (SR) • Covenant (Stalking The Wild Hare, edited by John Helfers, Chris Pierson, Marc Tassin and Jean Rabe, Walkabout Publishing) • Night of the Rat God (published on Stormwolf.com as part of The Chain Story) • The Adventure of The Ghost Watch (published on Stormwolf.com as part of The Chain Story)

Comics

Mike worked with Dark Horse Comics on a number of Star Wars projects. They were:

X-wing Rogue Squadron

• Issues 1-20 Mike did the story outlines. • Issue 1/2 (Promo comic distributed during the rerelease of the original trilogy) Mike did the story outline • Issues 21-35 Mike wrote the outlines and scripted the books.

Mara Jade: By the Emperor’s Hand

• Mike collaborated with Timothy Zahn on the story then scripted issues 1-3. Tim scripted the last three issues.

Star Wars Union (The Marriage of Luke Skywalker)

• Mike outlined and scripted the entire run of four issues.

For Wizards of the Coast Mike scripted Battle for Theed, a short comic to promote the Star Wars role-playing game.

Mike has done a number of projects for WizKids. They were:

MageKnight

• Mike scripted the introductory comics available in both the limited and unlimited releases of the initial MageKnight sets. • Scrye Magazine ran a four part MageKnight serial in 2001 and 2002.

Crimson Skies

• Mike did one of the two introductory comics in the Crimson Skies boxed set.

Screenplays

2005

• Gone (Written with Brian Pulido) (Grand Prize Winner in FADE IN Magazine’s 2006 Scriptwriting Contest)

2007

• The Sickness (Written with Brian Pulido) •[Unnamed Lara Croft, Tomb Raider animation episode] (Written for GameTap to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Tomb Raider™)

 

From all of us fellow authors, readers and fans – I think  Wayne and Garth summed it up best in Wayne’s World –

“We’re not worthy, we’re not worthy!”

 

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November 7, 2011 · 7:02 am

West Valley Writers’ Workshop

We had a great meeting out in Avondale.  Lots of fellow authors and aspiring writers sharing and learning with each other.  Writing can be a very isolating vocation and you spend a lot of time by yourself at a keyboard with your own thoughts.  Meeting with others with the same passion, or curse, is very uplifting.

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